Making Connections: AUS Spends 2024 Building Relationships
Recognizing a need for stronger ties to the community it serves, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) recently created its first-ever team dedicated to connecting the airport with its neighbors.
The Community Affairs team, comprised of four professional staff, spent 2024 hosting events, attending community gatherings, sharing information, establishing trust, and building relationships with stakeholders.
You may have noticed AUS’s presence around town a bit more this year—the Pecan Street Festival, SXSW, the Mighty Texas Dog Walk, and everywhere in between—you weren’t far from having a chance to hear about the great things happening at the airport.
Let’s take a look at some of the key milestones of this new focus area for AUS.
2024 Airport Open House
In late April, AUS spent a Saturday morning meeting with the community about all things airport. From learning about ongoing expansion efforts and getting a sense of the airport’s mobility and sustainability programs, to getting informed about career opportunities, neighbors gained more insight into our growing airport and how it impacts them directly. Attendees also provided valuable feedback, enjoyed family-friendly activities, and provided information to stay connected to hear about future updates.
Speakers Bureau and Tour Program
AUS launched two new initiatives this year; the AUS Speakers Bureau and the AUS Tours program. The Speakers Bureau allows for a quick and easy way for the community to request a speaker from the airport to come and share information with groups about what is happening at AUS. The program has been wildly successful, resulting in dozens of speaking engagements all over town. You can request an airport speaker today.
The tour program launched late in 2024 and has hosted multiple classes for a tour of the airfield. The tour program is subject to availability and focuses on tours for school-aged children. Learn more about the tour program here.
AUS for ATX - Giving Back to the Community
Leveraging the historically generous spirit of AUS employees, the Community Affairs team took the lead to create ‘AUS for ATX’ – a coordinated effort to foster charitable giving for the benefit of the community and the airport. This included raising more than $14,000 to support the Central Texas Food Bank and donating two truckloads of school supplies for students in the neighboring Del Valle Independent School District. AUS for ATX also coordinated an employee clean-up of airport-adjacent parkland and volunteered with airline partners to help address food insecurity in the local community.
By The Numbers
While the quality of relationships remained the focus of AUS’s efforts this year, the numbers speak to the commitment to connect our region to the airport. In 2024, AUS:
- Had 7,377 individual interactions with the community
- Participated in 27 speaking engagements to groups large and small
- Hosted or attended 43 community and stakeholder events around town
This is just the start of the Community Affairs program. Looking toward 2025, AUS will continue to host and attend events and will have a greater emphasis on reaching out to the surrounding communities about their needs for accessibility. These relationships will be critically important as the airport designs its future infrastructure.
Stay connected with AUS Community Affairs by signing up to receive the bi-monthly Community Connections newsletter.
